Merced County remembers officers killed in the line of duty

Two California Highway Patrol officers with ties to Merced County were part of the Newhall Incident, when four officers were gunned down while approaching a stopped car, and were two of the 16 officers honored Wednesday at a memorial for fallen officers.

Officers Roger Gore and Walt Frago, who grew up in Merced County, were killed in the nearly five-minute gun battle that also took the lives of two other officers in the southern part of Santa Clarita, according to the CHP.

Those officers’ final day on the job was April 6, 1970. Laurel McGowen, 66, a cousin to Gore, said the yearly ceremony carries great meaning for her.

“It’s about the sacrifice that our law enforcement officers make to protect us,” she said.

Sixteen officers killed in Merced County, or those with ties to the county, were honored Wednesday during a ceremony in downtown Merced’s historic Merced Theatre. Scores of people and elected officials attended the event that’s now 11 years old.

Merced County Sgt. Delray Shelton, who organized the ceremonies, said the gathering honors the officers who died and the families they left behind.

“Our souls are overjoyed that each of them died for the cause and doing something they loved doing,” he said.

The story will be updated.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Merced County remembers officers killed in the line of duty."